Iran - enriched uranium
Posted: 19th March 2026
Before launching his war on Iran, President Donald Trump said his most
important goal was that Iran would “never have a nuclear weapon.” Yet
it is not clear what, if anything, his administration has planned for
dealing with Iran’s stock of enriched uranium that could be used to make
nuclear bombs – or its remaining deeply buried nuclear facilities and the
nuclear equipment that might be in them, or hidden elsewhere. U.S. and
Israeli strikes in June 2025 seriously damaged Iran’s
major nuclear
facilities and killed several prominent scientists associated with the
country’s nuclear program. However, contrary to Trump’s claim that the
Iranian nuclear program had been “completely obliterated,” it appears
that Iran had stored much or all of its enriched uranium in deep tunnels
that were not destroyed. I have been studying steps to stop the spread of
nuclear weapons – including managing the dangers of Iran’s nuclear program
- for decades. My conclusion is that if all these capabilities remain in
place, the war will have accomplished little in reducing Iran’s nuclear
capability, while likely increasing the government’s belief that it needs a
nuclear weapon to defend itself. The most immediate concern is roughly 970
pounds (441 kilograms) of highly enriched uranium containing 60% of the
U-235 isotope that is relatively easy to split. That’s what Iran was
believed to have before the summer 2025 bombings, and much of it reportedly
survived those strikes. Over 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of it is reportedly
stored in deep underground tunnels near Isfahan. Other stocks of this
material are thought to be in a deep underground facility near Natanz known
as Pickaxe Mountain, and in Fordow, one of the sites bombed in summer 2025.
With just 100 centrifuges, Iran could further enrich the 60% enriched
material to be 90% or more U-235 in a few weeks. That is the concentration
needed for the nuclear weapon design that Iran was working on in the secret
nuclear weapons program it largely stopped in late 2003. Even without
further enrichment, the 60% enriched material could be used in a bomb,
either exploding with less power or using more material and explosives.
The Conversation 17th March 2026
https://theconversation.com/irans-nuclear-materials-and-equipment-remain-a-danger-in-an-active-war-zone-278008